Motaz
#1) I don't understand how does one determine whether there is more probability that a user would replace his hard disk and not the motherboard: Somebody could just as well upgrade the motherboard :-) And I have observed that in commercial organizations, people most probably get new systems: very few upgrades, so nither CPU nor harddisk works.
#2) Not all CPUs have a serial number (only P3 onwards) and it seems serial numbers of BIOS are not unique.

I want to give my customers a cd, containing a valid version only can run on thier computer by using unique serial number, and most of them solve thier windows problems by formatting thier hard disk, so that they need another copy of the application,

I cann't determine wither they replace the hard disk with another one (and run this application in another computer), and gave me a new hard disk, or they are really format it

anyway, as I was said, it is the last solution (althought it is my first thinking on protecting my application)
Motaz

Well,
The choice is yours: either use CPU/Bios serial numbers which you are not guaranteed to find on all systems (My P3 doesn't have a serial no.) or use HDD serial number: I think all hard disks have a unique s/no.
For CPU, you could use the links gmayo suggested. Or use simonet's BIOS serial number, again not guaranteed to be unique. Or use HDD serial no.
Cheers!
...Shu

Motaz,
Thank you for the points!
>>I cann't determine wither they replace the hard disk with another one (and run this application in another computer), and gave me a new hard disk, or they are really format it
Well, you could copy the serial number to a floppy and take it with you for your reference so that next time you are required to install the S/W, you could cross-check. perhaps you could use a combination of HDD S/No and BIOS Serial Number.
Just a suggestion. (We also had all these issues discussed when we finalized on HDD serial number security!)
:-)
...Snehanshu

I've used SW protection before. That was a specific one which comes with a hardware (so the price was in 4-digit range anyway). The final solution was to use USB dong with SN burned (Alladin or Rainbow - I do not remember which company it was), with price per key ~$15. But SW protection brought us nothing but a headacke. This is not technical issue but a human perception. People just do not like it. So think twice. Thinking back I would rather loose 1/2 sales.

Hi!
I would think fingerprint.......combining bios id/version features, hd serial, maybe some timing info and then produce a fingerprint that allows for some deviation. If no timings are involved you can probably rely on that two computers wont get EXACTLY the same fingerprint.

Fingerprints(read checksums) can be combined with other bits of info to identify
a system with (i am guessing) more than 90% probability. That would be ok would it not?

Would be fairly simple to gather components that does the job.

//Olas

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oygCommented: 2004-06-23

Hi Motaz, And Hi To All,

For software protection I face the same problem, but I want to mention some points:

1- The Hard Disk Serial no that you all talk about it , it is not a Serial No. , but it is a Volume Serial No That becomes when you make a format to the Hard Disk. So it must be Unique, but it is not. because by some software you can copy this volume serial no and also you can change it, because it is a Logical Serial No, Not Physical.

2- So The Physical Hard Disk Serial No. it is a number that fixed on external Hard Disk cover and It is very Difficult to depend on that because the component that I test is worked only with Win98, And Also The BIOS Component only worked with Win2000 / XP, So we don't have a component that worked with Poth Operating System.

3- So What I do with my software I make the protection with Hard Disk Volume Serial Number and I store it Encrypted in the Database.

that is the last solution that I find it for four years of searching.

Best Regards To all

Osama

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oygCommented: 2004-06-23

Hi Again,

I Also make the hard disk two partitions and make the protection for hard disk C and D, so If he format the C the protection still on D.